Fire Up The Grill

It’s BBQ Season! I love BBQ Season. I am the Grilling Queen of the East Coast. And I love enjoying a glass of wine while I’m barbecuing and while I’m eating the grilled delights. Let’s have a bit of fun and talk about pairing up our favorite grilled food with some of our favorite wines.

Steak:

Doesn’t that make your mouth water? A big juicy steak, in my opinion, requires a big juicy wine. Most times a steak is served up with a big bold red, and I like a Shiraz or a Cabernet Sauvignon. Here are two of my favorites.

I don’t have steak all that often, so when I do I tend to treat myself to a special wine. You will never go wrong serving Wolf Blass Grey Label Shiraz or Burrowing Owl Cabernet Sauvignon (a Canadian favorite) with a grilled steak. Both wines are big and bold in the glass with juicy fruits, oak aging and vanilla and spice. A potent combination for any steak. If you just drink white wines, give this one a try.

It’s the J.Lohr Chardonnay out of California, and it is everything a big Chardonnay should be. Flavors of ripe apple, nectarine and some citrus with that buttery smooth oak aging – this one is a winner with chicken, pork and yes, even beef.

I would say chicken is my #1 grilled food. I absolutely love chicken done on the BBQ. Whether it’s wings, thighs or breasts, chicken makes for great grilled food. And the wine. I am loving Chardonnay at the moment with grilled chicken, like this one….

The J. Lohr Chardonnay mentioned above will also go divine with chicken. Schuck’s Chardonnay is another great one out of California. The unique packaging will hold up in an ice bucket, but it’s whats in the bottle that is most important. Fun and crisp with buttery smoothness, love this with chicken. With chicken, there’s a 50% I’ll be drinking red. And my two favorite chicken pairings are Old Vine Zinfandels and Pinot Noir.

A few of my favorite Old Vine Zinfandels. 7 deadly Zins, is just what the name suggests, 7 different Zinfandel grapes from 7 different vineyards to make for one sinfully delicious food friendly wine. Pepperwood Grove is being de-listed in Nova Scotia, so stock up. They infuse pepper into the wine, light oak, big on fruity flavor. And Twisted is another great priced wine in the old vine Zinfandel family. Big ripe fruits, oak and pepper, also make it great with BBQ ribs.

Three of my favorite Pinot Noir wines. The first one is Canadian, and our cool climate here in Canada make for a great Pinot Noir. It’s raspberries and cherry fruits with a hint of oak make it so food friendly. It’s under $20 in Newfoundland, can’t get this one in Nova Scotia. But if you can find it in your local liquor store, pick it up. The Smoking Loon is another Pinot under $20. There was a time when you didn’t trust a Pinot Noir under $20, but those days are gone. Soft subtle fruit with a hint of spice. When in doubt about which red to serve with a meal, if you go with Pinot Noir you will hit it out of the ballpark 85% of the time. That’s how food friendly it is. And the last one is probably my favorite. If you think Canada is making some good Pinot Noir, then New Zealand carries the crown. They are known for 2 wines in particular, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. The Whitehaven is smooth and tasty with dark cherries and charred oak.

Next week, we are going to do pork, vegetables and I’ll mention seafood, even though I’m allergic to seafood and can’t eat it, I will pass along some recommendations.